Synthesis and applications of novel fluorinated dendrimer-type copolymers by the use of fluoroalkanoyl peroxide as a key intermediate

Fluoroalkanoyl peroxide reacted with 1,3,5,7-tetravinyl-1,3,5,7-tetramethylcyclotetrasiloxane (TTRV-Si) to afford fluoroalkyl end-capped oligomers containing some unreacted vinyl segments under very mild conditions. Fluoroalkyl end-capped cyclosiloxane oligomers containing some vinyl segments thus obtained reacted with N,N-dimethylacrylamide and fluoroalkanoyl peroxide to afford new fluorinated dendrimer-type block copolymers in good isolated yield. Similar reactions were also occurred by the use of 1,3,5-trivinyl-1,3,5-trimethylcyclotrisiloxane instead of TTRV-Si, and the corresponding fluorinated dendrimer-type block copolymer was obtained in good isolated yield. These fluorinated dendrimer-type block copolymers had an excellent solubility not only in water but also in traditional organic solvents including aliphatic fluorinated solvents. Interestingly, these fluorinated block copolymers were found to form the self-assembled dendrimer-type polymeric aggregates in aqueous solutions. More interestingly, these fluorinated block copolymers had an extremely higher dispersion ability of not only single-walled carbon nanotube and fullerenes but also magnetic nanoparticles into water, compared to that of the corresponding two fluoroalkyl end-capped oligomers.     

Detection of environmental chemicals by SPR assay using branched cyclodextrin as sensor ligand

We obtained the association constants Ka of estrogen (E2) and environmental chemicals by the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) assay using the immobilized mono-6-O-α-maltosyl-β-CD (G₂βCD) compared with the immobilized β-CD and the immobilized estrogen receptor (ER). The association behavior of G₂βCD was shown as a ER model compound. The calibration curve was determined by the initial rate of association depending on the various concentrations, and the minimum detectable concentrations in the order of parts per billion were calculated. The SPR assay has advantages that the pre-treatment of the sample is not necessary and the immobilized ligand is stable and useful for the repeated measurement.     

Chemoenzymatic synthesis of (+)-totarol, (+)-podototarin, (+)-sempervirol, and (+)-jolkinolides E and D

The enzymatic resolution products [(1R,4aR,8aR)-1,2,3,4,4a,5,6,7,8,8a-decahydro-5,5,8a-trimethyl-2-oxo-trans-naphthalene-1-methanol-2-ethylene acetal (8aR)-7 (98% ee) and {acetate of (1S,4aS,8aS)-1,2,3,4,4a,5,6,7,8,8a-decahydro-5,5,8a-trimethyl-2-oxo-trans-naphthalene-1-methanol-2-ethylene acetal} (8aS)-9 (>99% ee)] obtained by the lipase-catalyzed enantioselective acetylation of (±)-7 in the presence of vinyl acetate as an acyl donor were converted to the ,β-unsaturated ketones (8aR)-6 and (8aS)-6, respectively. Concise syntheses of (+)-totarol 1, (+)-podototarin 2 and (+)-sempervirol 3 were achieved based on Michael reactions between (8aS)-6 and the appropriate β-keto ester followed by aldol condensation. The first chiral syntheses of (+)-jolkinolides E 4 and D 5 were achieved from (5R,10R,12R)-12-hydroxypodocarpa-8(14)-en-13-one 15 derived from (8aR)-6.     

Nonlinear optical property calculations by the long-range-corrected coupled-perturbed Kohn-Sham method

The long-range correction (LC) scheme for the exchange functional of density-functional theory (DFT) was combined with the coupled-perturbed Kohn-Sham (CPKS) method to calculate nonlinear optical response properties. By using this LC-CPKS method, we calculated the hyperpolarizabilities of typical molecules and the dipole moments, polarizabilities, and hyperpolarizabilities of push-pull pi-conjugated systems: p-nitroaniline, 4-amino-4'-nitrostilbene, and alpha,omega-nitroaminopolyenes. It was found that the LC scheme clearly improved the calculation of these optical properties for all of these systems, which have been significantly overestimated by conventional DFTs. We therefore concluded that the long-range exchange interaction played an important role in calculating the optical properties using the DFT formalism.     

Preparation of magnetic nanoparticles by the use of self-assembled fluorinated oligomeric aggregates—A new approach to the dispersion of magnetic particles on poly(methyl methacrylate) film surface

Fluoroalkyl end-capped acrylic acid oligomer-encapsulated magnetic nanoparticles were prepared by the coprecipitation of aqueous ferric and ferrous ions in the presence of the corresponding oligomers under alkaline conditions. The dynamic light scattering measurements showed that these fluorinated oligomer magnetic nanoparticles were encapsulated in the self-assemblies of fluoroalkyl end-capped oligomers. Fluoroalkyl end-capped oligomer-encapsulated magnetic nanoparticles thus obtained were applied to the dispersion of magnetic particles on the poly(methyl methacrylate) film surface to exhibit not only the surface active property imparted by fluorine but also magnetic behavior toward a permanent magnet.     

Studies of NO adsorption on Pt(110)-(1 x 2) and (1 x 1) surfaces using density functional theory

Adsorption of NO on Pt(110)-(1 x 2) and (1 x 1) surfaces has been investigated by density functional theory (DFT) method (periodic DMol(3)) with full geometry optimization and without symmetry restriction. Adsorption energies, structures, and N-O stretching vibrational frequencies of NO are studied by considering multiple possible adsorption sites and comparing with the experimental data. Adsorption is strongly dependent on both coverage and surface phase. The assignment of adsorption sites has been carried out with precise calculation of vibrational frequencies for NO on various sites. We clearly show the NO site switching on both of the surfaces as found in the experiments: at low coverages, bridge species is formed on the surface, and at high coverages, NO switches to atop sites.     

Synthesis of porphyrin-introduced silica gels by sol-gel process

Using a hydroxyl group appended free base porphyrin derivative (HP), porphyrin-introduced silica gels were synthesized by a sol-gel process. The HP content in the materials linearly increased with increasing the HP concentration. Meanwhile, free base tetraphenylporphyrin (TPP) with no hydroxyl groups were almost not incorporated into the silica gels. These facts suggested that the interaction between hydroxyl groups of the HP molecules and silica network is considerably strong. The UV-vis characters of HP-introduced materials were almost the same as pure HP molecules. The Beer's plot indicated that the HP molecules in the materials are dispersed.     

Crystal structures of n-alkanes with branches of different size in the middle

We synthesized four branched n-alkane samples C35-C1, C35-C4, C35-C6, and C35-C4Ph with the same number of carbons as the main chain, n = 35, to which the methyl, butyl, hexyl, and butyl phenyl groups were respectively attached at the middle, and also the corresponding linear homologue of C35, and studied their crystalline structures from DSC, IR, and Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction measurement, and computer simulation. Solid-solid phase transitions characteristic of linear alkane C35 are not observed for any branched alkanes, and their melting temperatures Tm are lowered to 325.2, 318.5, 314.3, and 314.1K, respectively. Main chains of branched alkane molecules are not folded, irrespective of length and chemical structure of branches, but are extended to take the planar zigzag form in the solid state. The branches of C35-C4 and C35-C6 are also aligned inside the crystal in the extended form. Data analyses on solution-grown crystallized samples reveal that, with increasing the branch length, their crystal structures transform from polymorphic forms of the orthorhombic (P2(1)2(1)2(1)) and the triclinic (P) for C35-C1 and C35-C4 to the unique triclinic form for C35-C6 and C35-C4Ph, so as to minimize extra surface energy invoked by introduction of long branches.     

Synthesis of polyanionic glycopolymers for the facile assembly of glycosyl arrays

Polyanionic glycopolymers were synthesized aiming at establishing a simple process for assembling glycosyl arrays. The synthetic glycopolymers carry the key carbohydrate epitopes of α-d-galactobioside (Gb₂), β-lactoside, and α-d-mannopyranoside, each of which serves as a ligand of bacterial toxins and adhesion proteins. The Gb₂ epitope, prepared from penta-O-acetyl-d-galactopyranose, was coupled with poly(ethylene-alt-maleic anhydride) in a polymer reaction to afford a Gb₂-embedded glycopolymer having also carboxylate (COO⁻) polyanions at the side chain. The polyanionic glycopolymer was then applied to a preparation of sugar-coated gold electrodes, which involves an alternating layer-by-layer adsorption based on electrostatic interactions. The presence of the Gb₂-coat on the surface was evidenced by Fourier transform infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy. The Gb₂-coated glyco-chip was stable in 10 mM HEPES buffer containing 150 mM NaCl aq. Other glycopolymers carrying the β-lactoside and α-d-mannopyranoside epitopes were applied to the same assembling process. The derived glycosyl arrays will be useful for detecting Shiga toxins, other pathogenic toxins and viruses when applied as glyco-chips for surface plasmon resonance or quartz crystal microbalance technique.